The present disclosure pertains to systems for printing and applying labels, and more particularly to the printing and application of vinyl labels for produce.
Produce (fruits and vegetables) are typically required to be identified from the time of harvest to the time at which the consumer purchases the produce. Use of adhesive-backed labels, typically vinyl labels, is one means of identifying such produce.
For food safety, inventory control, etc., variable data is required on the identifying label. This variable data can include date codes, lot codes, etc. Such labels are typically pre-printed in rolls on a printing press at a printing facility, with all of the labels of a particular roll being identical. This requires many different rolls of labels to be maintained in inventory so as to be applicable to the particular produce. Moreover, oftentimes all of the labels in a roll are not needed, and may not be usable for future produce. Accordingly, waste of unused labels could occur. Even if the labels are usable in the future, it is still necessary to store and inventory the unused labels. If numerous types of produce are being processed, this can be a burdensome task.
The present disclosure provides for the printing of labels, or the printing of partially pre-printed labels, to provide variable information on the label near the point of application. The data/information to be applied to the label can be transmitted to the label printer via control system, either by hardwire connection or by wireless transmission. As such, the content of labels may be easily changed so as to be germane to the produce being labeled.
One challenge in printing labels at or near the point of application is that the speed of operation of the printer may not coincide with the speed of operation of the label applicator. Moreover, the label applicator may operate intermittently due to produce not reaching the applicator in a uniform manner. Also, printers typically operate better in a continuous or batch basis. However, it is difficult to have the output of the printer coincide with the rate of label application by the applicator. The present disclosure addresses this problem.